Chapter 315: The Issue with Taking Over

As noon approached, the flow of people in the hotel subsided. A door on the tenth floor opened, and Amanda Seyfried emerged first, followed by Matthew who closed the door behind him. Handing the room key to Amanda, they both headed to the elevator to go down to the lobby to check out.

The elevator was empty except for them. Amanda leaned against Matthew and said, "You were even better than Rachel described!"

Matthew pinched her cheek playfully and asked, "What exactly did Rachel tell you?"

"She didn't say much, just that she knew a big star who not only has great charm but also skill and real-world capability..."

The elevator suddenly stopped, and someone else got on, causing Amanda to quickly stop talking. They stood quietly beside each other until reaching the ground floor.

After exiting the elevator, they completed the checkout process at the lobby. Matthew insisted on paying for the room himself.

Matthew and Amanda had spent the previous night together, and both understood that, to some extent, they were each other's trophies. More importantly, they were both satisfied with the evening.

Such arrangements were the most crucial in cases like 419.

Outside the hotel, Matthew was about to go his separate way when Amanda suddenly waved towards someone inside the lobby. Curious, Matthew turned to look.

It was Lindsay Lohan, the lead actress from "Mean Girls" and a child star, who was walking over arm in arm with a man.

Matthew preferred not to interact with Lindsay Lohan and told Amanda, "I have things to handle this afternoon, so I'll be going now."

"Sure, see you," Amanda replied sweetly, "You have my number, keep in touch."

Matthew nodded slightly, then turned and walked towards his car. Before exiting the door, he glanced back and saw Lindsay under the lobby lights, her face clear of makeup revealing freckles that spread down to her neck visible above her clothing.

He didn't find her appealing, and compared to Amanda, who was only a year older but still looked youthful and beautiful, Lindsay seemed to show signs of premature aging.

The gossip media had always been filled with rumors about Lindsay Lohan. From her rise as a child star to a teen idol with her breakout role in "Mean Girls," she didn't follow the path of stardom; instead, she became embroiled in various scandals, her unflattering moments captured daily by paparazzi...

If Jessica Alba played the role of a naive sweetheart to win over fans and the media, Lindsay Lohan was the epitome of a clueless American beauty, as Matthew had heard from Helen Herman during his time in Hollywood.

Often, these young stars were the center of attention in school, got involved in various relationships, partied in nightclubs, preferred "bad boys," and had tumultuous personal lives with a hint of substance issues. Their careers, heavily reliant on looks, began to decline in their twenties as younger individuals took the spotlight. Some found wealthy partners to maintain their lifestyles, others settled with more stable men willing to take on their past, and the least fortunate ended up as single mothers or worse.

Such figures might attract sympathy from afar, but up close, they seemed to bring it upon themselves, holding disdain for anyone they deemed a loser.

Thus, Matthew had decided long ago not to be someone who takes over such problems but instead to let others handle the aftermath he leaves behind.

Stepping out of the hotel, he noticed paparazzi nearby, likely having already captured his departure with Amanda through the glass walls. These images would soon surface online and in tabloids.

Matthew wasn't concerned, as his interactions were already frequent tabloid fodder, and he wasn't committed to anyone.

Having sent away his chauffeured car the previous night, he had arranged for a taxi before leaving the hotel room. He got into the taxi waiting at the entrance and instructed the driver to head to Burbank.

Indeed, he had plans for the afternoon as Helen Herman had discussed several times with Zack Snyder. Since this new film project would follow his modern action movies, there was no concern about being typecast in historical roles. Helen didn't object, seeing potential in Zack Snyder's vision for pushing forward the "300 Spartans" project. But with strict industry rules preventing agents and agencies from directly engaging in film production, many of Helen's ideas had to be channeled through Matthew.

"All of this depends on..."

In the office of Angel Talent Agency, Helen Herman spoke earnestly, "securing the movie adaptation rights from Frank Miller."

Matthew nodded, "That's why Zack Snyder has made such extensive preparations."

Leaning back in her chair, Helen continued, "Frank Miller is rigid, stubborn, and has a high opinion of himself. It won't be easy to persuade him, even though the graphic novel was published by Dark Horse Comics, he holds all the rights."

She pushed a stack of documents towards Matthew, "Since Zack plans to fund a short film

 to convince Frank Miller, just cooperate with him. I've already spoken to Zack; you'll sign an agreement that if the demo is successful, you'll invest in the rights based on a certain percentage. If it fails, you lose a bit of time but no major financial loss."

Helen's points were something Matthew had already considered. Although eager to advance the project, the most desperate person was Zack Snyder, eager to prove his unique style could succeed in Hollywood.

To date, aside from offering ideas, Matthew hadn't spent a dollar; Zack was handling most aspects personally.

Now, Helen wanted Angel Talent Agency to lend a hand, likely providing some assistance.

However, Matthew knew Helen well; if things turned south, she would certainly abandon Zack, minimizing her own losses.

With this in mind, Matthew picked up the documents Helen had collected, mostly about the graphic novel.

"300" was a war history graphic novel published in 1998, created by Frank Miller with Lynn Varley coloring, and published by Dark Horse Comics. It was based on the Battle of Thermopylae that occurred in 480 BC between Greece and Persia.

In 1999, "300" won several Eisner Awards, known as the Oscars of the comic world, including "Best Limited Series," "Best Writer/Artist," and "Best Colorist."

Moreover, Frank Miller personally owned the rights to this graphic novel, having switched to Dark Horse to publish "Sin City" and "300" due to dissatisfaction with the constraints imposed by major comic publishers DC and Marvel.

"We're only at the intent stage now; there's much uncertainty. We don't need to do much initially, just assist Zack Snyder. Everything will revolve around him."

Helen's intention was clear; if there were losses, they would be Zack's alone. She slightly raised her voice, "There are a few points I need to remind you of."

Matthew set the documents down and looked at Helen, "Go on."

Raising a finger, Helen explained, "First, even if you and Zack can convince Frank Miller and secure the film rights, turning it into an actual movie will take a considerable amount of time."

Typically, actors like Matthew became involved in film projects during the later stages.

"You guys can start shooting the test footage around the end of August," Helen continued. "Zack plans to use CG technology for rendering, which, at the earliest, means the final product won't be ready until December. Then he'll attempt to persuade Frank Miller, followed by copyright negotiations, preparation, filming, and production. By my estimate, if everything goes smoothly, the movie might only premiere after two to two and a half years."

She added, "If that weren't the case, I wouldn't allow you to continue taking on historical action roles."

As long as "National Treasure" and "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" performed well at the box office, Matthew wouldn't have to worry about being typecast.

Matthew knew little about film production, but having interacted with many producers, he knew Helen's timeline was optimistic.

According to Sean Daniel, spending over two years to prepare and shoot a multi-million dollar film was considered highly efficient; few directors or producers in Hollywood could manage a film a year.

Raising a second finger, Helen added, "Secondly, securing the rights also requires finding suitable production and distribution companies, especially a production company. We need to find investors so that if the film fails, others will cover the costs, not us directly facing bankruptcy."

Even without deep knowledge of production, Matthew knew from movies he had seen that without an investment of at least fifty million dollars, the film couldn't be made.

Together, he and Zack couldn't raise that amount; finding production companies and investors was essential.

"I will keep an eye on this project," Helen concluded. "Once we secure the rights, I can bring in professionals to assist Zack Snyder with planning to attract production companies."

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